Seitan Asada, and Wheat Flour Tortillas

My computer has apparently died. Last week, I installed the new microsoft update and firefox 3.0, one of which, I guess caused my firewall to disengage, which let in a virus, which killed my comp. Thankfully, JD's computer is across the room, and I can use it, although I can't access many of my recipes, pictures, movies, and music.

I promised to post about the seitan asada tacos and homemade flour tortillas, so here they are.

Carne asada was traditionally made with the cheap, tough cuts of meat, which were marinated in a citrus or vinegar based sauce or rubbed with spices, and then grilled or roasted to produced an easier to chew and more flavorful, dish. When I was growing up, my dad would buy carna asada tacos from roadside taco stands and taquierias, which consisted of carne asada served in a small tortilla with a wedge of lime, a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, occassionally grilled onions or scallions, and your choice of salsa.

I don't really measure ingredients for my seitan asada, so this is a broad recipe.

Seitan Asada Tacos
by Christina Terriquez

1 batch of Quick and Easy Seitan, homemade seitan, storebought seitan, or beef-style strips like Morningstar Farms Veggie Steak Meal Starters
cold-pressed unrefined safflower oil
garlic powder
onion powder, optional
chipotle powder
Mexican oregano, optional
sea salt
6-10 tortillas
1 medium onion, sliced into thin half moons
cilantro
lime wedges
salsa

Directions
If using seitan, cut seitan into thin strips, approximately 1/4"x 1/4" and 2" in length.

In a cast iron skillet, heat a small amount of oil. Add seitan strips, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, a shake of chipotle powder, and a shake of oregano. Sauté for a few minutes, and taste. Season with spices and salt to your tastes and sauté for a few more minutes. Remove seitan from pan, but do not wash pan.

Heat the same skillet over medium high, with fond and bits of seitan intact. Add onion and two pinches of salt. Allow onion to brown before turning, and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side. Alternately, sauté onions until translucent or grill.

Heat tortillas in a clean, dry skillet.

To serve, place about 2-3 tablespoons of seitan in each tortilla, garnish with a few pieces of onion, and a sprig or two of cilantro. Plate with a lime wedge and salsa.

Variations
-Steam tortillas.

-Add lettuce, and tomatoes.

-Add avocados.

-Add Quick-Pickled Pepper Onions instead of cooked onions.

And since almost everything is better when it's homemade, why not try your hand at making tortillas from scratch? They're much easier than they seem, and don't require special equipment, although the resting time is mandatory.

Flour Tortillas

2 cups wheat flour (white, whole or a combination)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup cold pressed unrefined safflower oil
1/2-3/4 cup water

Directions
In a medium bowl, sift dry ingredients. Add oil and mix well. Add 1/2 cup water slowly and knead until dough is soft and consistent in texture, adding more water if needed.

Cover dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Flatten balls intos discs and let rest 30 more minutes.

Roll each disc into a 7--8 inch tortilla, but do NOT stack. Heat griddle or large cast iron skillet. Heat tortillas, separately, about 45 seconds on each side. They should puff up with air, turn opaque, and become speckled with brown.

Wrap in a dry towel to keep warm.

Both recipes are pretty simple. They are tasty together, but that's an awful lot of flour, so I would serve corn tortillas with the seitan asada, and use the flour tortillas for something else. Sorry about the lack of pictures, I can't access the stuff on my computer, so back logged photos might be lost, but I CAN upload directly to JD's computer, so I'll still be able to post new photos.